Hello!
Well, it rained like crazy today, and it was still raining at 5:00 when it was time for me to get dressed and head to the park for running group. Since it was raining like crazy, and since we were scheduled to run dirt hills today (or should I say mud hills) I had a slight suspicion that running group would be canceled. Just to make sure, though, I got my running gear on, got Wesley dressed in his sweet little yellow raincoat with the duckies, and set out for the park. My plan was to walk Wesley once I knew for sure that running group was cancelled. (I was secretly hoping it would be since I didn't feel like killing myself on hills today.)
Well, aren't we a bunch of die hards! Mike and Monica's van came rolling into the parking lot at 5:30 like always, and just about EVERYONE showed up! It was insane. To top it off, the rain stopped completely soon after the last person had arrived. Monica was ready to go. Apparently, I had not been rescued from hills today.
Then Monica showed me the route were going to take. (See the steep part? That was "up!")
"I want you to go up that hill, across the top, and back down three times," she told us.
I thought the
last hill at this park had been steep! This one put my past pain to shame! Not only was it steep but progress was slow! By the time I reached the wood stairs that had been dug into the hillside I could barely climb them. My feet felt like lead and lifting them vertically got to be very hard. My breathing was heavy and labored, and, by the time I made it to the top, I just wanted to quit and start walking.
I've noticed that my emotions change as I climb really difficult hills. Deep inside I start to get angry: Angry at Monica for being able to do the hill faster than I can and for continually reminding me to "use my arms" as if someone is watching me and not allowing me to slow down. Angry at Jennifer for being up ahead of me and for being competitive. (When she's in front and I don't feel like I could go much faster than she could, I let her lead. That girl's got road rage.) Angry at my feet for being so heavy. Angry at the task. Angry at the hill for challenging me so much. The key is to just do each step. On some of these long hills you can't see the end from mid-way up, so you just have to look straight down and keep making tiny steps, even if they're slow and even though you're being taxed far beyond your comfort level.
I looked on the internet for a picture of the hill we climbed. I found one. I'm pretty sure I accurately outlined our route. Of course, this was the "short" route. The rain had rendered some of the trail kind of muddy, so Jennifer elected to go the "flat" way down the backside of the mountain, then back up, back down, back up again and back down to the front. Not for me. The one hill had been enough for me, at least by the third go-round.
After our hill workout, Jennifer and I attempted to get coffee. But, of course, the coffee shop closes at 6 pm. (What ridiculous hours!) I ended up coming home and working on my webquest for 11th grade English on "The Puritan Mindset." I'm trying to demystify Puritanism for my students by simplifying and clearly explaining some of the stuff from the text book. We'll see if I'm successful. It's going to take a lot of work!
More later. It's time for bed!
